Peter Chong: Police didn’t tell Thai counterparts I was missing

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Petaling Jaya municipal councillor Chong Fook Meng, also known as Peter Chong, said the police did not inform their Thai counterparts when he went missing in Thailand.

Chong said he went to Thailand after being contacted by a man offering information on Pastor Raymond Koh, who was abducted in Petaling Jaya on Feb 13.

However, he said he was instead “held against his will” for seven days.

After his release, he sought help at a police station in Pattaya where he was told Thai police had no record of him being missing in Thailand.

“I assumed the Malaysian police did not contact their Thai counterparts or inform the Malaysian embassy in Bangkok,” he told the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia’s (Suhakam) public inquiry into the disappearances of Koh and three others.

The inquiry will consider, among others, whether the cases of Koh, Amri Che Mat, Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife Ruth were cases of enforced or involuntary disappearances as defined under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

The convention defines an enforced disappearance as the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the state or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorisation, support or acquiescence of the state.

The public inquiry is chaired by Suhakam commissioner and retired Court of Appeal judge Mah Weng Kwai, and includes Suhakam commissioners Prof Dr Aishah Bidin and Dr Nik Salida.

Koh, 62, was abducted from his car by a group of more than 10 men in a convoy of vehicles.

Amri, 44, who co-founded charity organisation Perlis Hope, has been missing since Nov 24 last year.

His wife, Norhayati Ariffin, said witnesses saw five vehicles blocking the path of Amri’s car before he was whisked away, just 550 metres from their home in Bukit Chabang, Perlis.

Joshua and his wife Ruth, meanwhile, were last seen on Nov 30 last year. A police report was lodged in Klang but the case was referred to the Petaling Jaya police as the complainant said the missing persons lived in Kampung Tunku.

Chong described his experience in Thailand as “pleasant” despite him sometimes being a little fearful.

He said he was contacted through a WhatsApp message on April 6 from a man calling himself Amir, who said he had information on Koh’s abduction.

“The message contained personal information about myself and my participation in the candlelight vigils for Pastor Koh.

“I finally agreed to meet him, and he suggested we meet in southern Thailand. The three-hour exchanges of WhatsApp messages convinced me to go and meet him.”

Chong told the inquiry he had hoped to obtain information that he could pass on to the authorities regarding Koh’s abduction.

“Amir requested to meet in Hatyai. I took a 10pm bus on April 6 and reached there around 6am.

“There, I was approached by a gentleman who gave me a note saying to follow him to meet Amir. He spoke in English and Malay.

“The man brought me to a shoplot by motorcycle. The journey took about 10 minutes. We went upstairs to a room at the back of the shop. They took my phone as I entered the room. One of the two guys there introduced himself as Amir.

“They asked me if I was okay with a hood being put over my head. I consented. They started asking me questions.”

Chong said the questioning focused on his involvement in the candlelight vigils, which the men asked him to stop.

“I asked for the hood to be removed as I was uncomfortable, and they removed it after 15 minutes. They were wearing surgical face masks, jeans and T-shirts. The two men spoke in northern Malay.

“I asked why they chose to speak to me, and they said they thought I had organised the candlelight vigils for Pastor Koh.

“This seemed like the main reason they asked me to come meet them.

“I felt cheated at that point when they told me they did not have information on the missing pastor and that they were not involved in the abduction.

“They said they were concerned about the vigils and asked me to put a stop to it.”

Chong said the two men claimed to be from a group of young Muslims who were out to promote Islam.

“They disagreed with the abduction of Pastor Koh and said it sends a negative message to the public about Islam.

“They also told me there was a big difference in the abduction of Pastor Koh and Amri Che Mat, and Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife Ruth because Joshua and Ruth were once Muslims, while Amri still was.”

Chong said the two men believed Koh had converted Muslims but that they did not agree with him being abducted in that manner.

He said the two men added that there were laws dealing with the conversion of Muslims, and that abduction was not the answer.

Chong said he grew fearful when they told him they wanted to keep him a bit longer.

“On the second day, they told me that my son had lodged a missing person police report, and that the police knew I was in Thailand.

“They treated me courteously. There were no weapons of any kind that I could see. I requested to contact my family but they didn’t allow it.

“They fed me different versions of tom yam (noodles) and Thai tea.

“I was kept in the same room for seven days. On the day I was released, April 15, I was driven in a white Hilux for more than 10 hours to Pattaya.

“I was dropped off at a construction site at a beach. They took my bag from me but handed me my passport, a bottle of water and 20 Thai bahts.

“I saw the Holiday Inn Pattaya behind me and I found a police station at around 2pm. That’s where I went and contacted my son with the help of a Thai-Punjabi police officer.

“My son booked a ticket for me to return home on April 16. At the airport, I was handed to the police and met ASP Chua from Dang Wangi (station) who recorded my statement.

“I was subsequently contacted by ASP Muhammad Supari who asked me to go to the IPD Petaling Jaya to record my statement. He also called me for identification parades. After that, I was not contacted by the police. -Mkini

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